


Kwami Swap Week

by Havendance



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (for adrien and marinette), F/M, Future AU, Gen, I think it's low-key, Ladybug!Adrien, Turtle!Ivan, akuma attacks, butterfly!mylene, cat!Marinette, gaurdian!Ivan, life swap au, mylene is tiny but angry at times, or maybe less low-key, some low-key angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 14:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19007317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havendance/pseuds/Havendance
Summary: My entries for Kwami Swap Week! (Which took place ages ago.)Mylene thinks that Ivan takes too many risks as Bouclier, but it's his job to protect her.As Paris's Hero, Lucky Red, Adrien has a run in with a certain black cat.As the guardian of the miraculous, Ivan watches heroes rise and fall throughout the years.





	1. Soft/Flare

**Author's Note:**

> I finally got around to making an account here, so I'm slowly cross-posting my old fics here from fanfiction.net.

"Ivan! We need to talk." 

Ivan flinched when he heard that iron tone in Mylene’s voice. He turned around to see his tiny girlfriend glaring up at him with her arms crossed.

"What is it?" Ivan held up his hands defensively. He didn't think that he'd forgotten anything particularly important. Mylene's birthday wasn't till the spring, he had made it to patrol last night, so it couldn't be that, and as far as he knew he hadn't forgotten any special dates or anniversaries. 

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Mylene looked kind of cute in a sort of scary way when she was angry. Admittedly, he usually thought that when wasn’t she wasn't giving him the evil eye with her hands on her hips, looking like she was ready for a fight. "Come with me."

Mylene grabbed his hand and started to pull him away. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be able to move him, but Ivan knew better than to try and resist. He could see that their classmates were pretending not to pay attention to them as Mylene dragged him out.

She went a short way down the hall before poking her head into an abandoned classroom and shoving Ivan in and closing the door. "What were you thinking last night?"

"I was just defending you, Mylene."

"You could've died!"

"You know that the turtle miraculous protects me from most of the damage." It certainly protected him more than the butterfly miraculous protected her.

"That doesn't change anything." Mylene surprised Ivan by hugging him as tight as she could and burying her face in his chest. "I don't want you to get hurt trying to protect me," she said softly.

"But that's my job. I defend you so you can create your champions and save the day." There was no way he was going to risk Mylene getting hurt, even if it meant getting a few extra bruises himself.

"That doesn't mean you should take unnecessary risks. Hornet nearly got you that time."

"She nearly got you too,” Ivan said softly. He didn’t want to think about what nearly happened.

Mylene bit her lip and looked away. "I-I just don't want to face her alone. You give me courage when we fight, I don't want you to be unable to fight and leave me alone."

"I’ll always be there for you, Mylene." Ivan lifted her up. She shrieked a little before giggling. “Even if I can't save you as Bouclier, I'll save you as Ivan." 

"Promise?" She was smiling now.

"Promise." Ivan started to kiss her before putting her down but was surprised when she started to kiss him back.

Neither of them heard the door open behind them as Alix poked her head in the classroom. 

"Hey, lovebirds! Madame Bustier wants you back in class," she shouted at them before slamming the door shut behind her. 

Ivan sheepishly put Mylene down. "We should probably go back to class," he said scratching his head. 

"Yeah." Mylene was looking at the ground. 

Ivan started to walk towards the door. “Are you coming?”

Mylene nodded and started to walk towards him. “Could you at least try to be a little more cautious, though? It’d make me feel better.”

“Yeah,” Ivan held the door so Mylene could walk through the door first. “I’ll try. But if you’re in danger I’m not going to hesitate.”

She smiled. “I know.”

Ivan didn’t say anything more. There wasn’t anything else that needed to be said. He reached for her hand and she took his and together they walked back to class.


	2. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Paris's Hero, Lucky Red, Adrien has a run in with a certain black cat.

Adrien was having a wonderful dream about flying through the sky on his yo-yo when he was rudely awakened by something banging against his head.

"Go away," he muttered swiping at the thing and burying his deeper into his pillow. His bed was so comfy, he didn't want to get out.

"Adrien!" Tikki's shrill voice pierced his ears. "You need to wake up and go to school."

"Can't I sleep just a little more?" Adrien buried his head further under his covers in a futile attempt to escape Tikki.

"School starts in twenty minutes! You don't have any more time!" Tikki tried to pull the blankets back off of his head.

That sure got Adrien's attention. "Shoot! Why didn't you wake me sooner, Tikki? I'm going to be late again!" He rushed about his room frantically pulling on clothes at random.

"Sorry, I was tired too," Tikki said before tucking her head back in the knapsack by the door.

"It's okay." Adrien rushed down the stairs, grabbed a croissant and kissed Maman and Papa on the way out the door. He ran down the city streets as fast as he could. He couldn't be late _again_ , then they would start talking to his parents, and that would mean that he would get grounded _again_. That would put a real cramp in his superhero style.

He rushed into his seat next to Marinette at the last minute. Madame Bustier raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and moved on to the lesson. Marinette looked over at him and laughed in his face.

"Hey, I can't look that bad." But then again, compared to Marinette, who always had her hair neatly put up and her clothes always looked immaculate and wrinkle-free, Adrien must look like a mess. He still had bedhead and he wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't put on matching socks.

"Your shirt's inside out doofus," Marinette said, playfully punching him on the arm. "Did you get dressed in the dark this morning?"

That was a little too accurate. "I overslept," Adrien said defensively.

"Were you doing homework? That physics assignment was brutal. My mind is still reeling  and I didn't even finish it."

Adrien shrugged. "I didn't think it was that bad. Say," Adrien leaned closer, "I could help you with that later  if you want." This was his chance to spend more time with Marinette.

"I'll take you up on that offer. You're a lifesaver, Adrien." She leaned back in her seat.

"Mlle. Agreste, are you paying attention over there?" Madame Bustier called over from the blackboard.

"Sorry, Madame," Marinette made a big show of taking notes.

Adrien sighed before taking out his own notes. He wished that he could spend more time with Marinette, but they were always both so busy. He slipped a cookie to Tikki in his book bag and settled down for another day of literature class.

* * *

 

Marinette listened intently to the footsteps outside her door, making sure that Nathalie really was walking away and not staying to listen outside her door, which had happened before, much to her chagrin. Once she had satisfied herself that Nathalie really was gone, she shoved the chinese she was supposed to be studying off to the side and reached for a piece of camembert from her secret stash.  She knew that she was supposed to be studying, heavens know she had been told enough times by Nathalie and Pere. But they filled her schedule with enough as it was. If they didn't want her sneaking out at night and ditching her responsibilities, they were going to have to give her at least a little spare time.

"Come on, Plagg," Marinette tossed the cheese to him. "Eat up, I want to get out tonight."

He dove for the cheese, eating it in one gulp. "Mmmm, got any more?"

"Nope, Claws Out, Plagg!"

Marinette let the magic wash over her, clothing her in black. Her normally blueish eyes were now green underneath her mask, and the hair that she usually kept up was now in the pigtails that she had loved so much before Pere had told her to wear them because it made her look "childish".

She snuck out onto the rooftop through one of the many windows in her room and breathed in the cool night air, reveling in the freedom that she felt under the fresh night stars.

Then, with a start, she began running across the rooftops of Paris, with no particular destination in mind. If she was lucky then Lucky Red would be out. He was a little cute, if overly idealistic. He was also really fun to annoy.

The people loved him and the spiel he gave off about defending Paris against Hawkmoth and being the perfect hero for the job. Marinette just didn't see the point in helping. Lucky Red did fine on his own, why should she help Paris on top of everything else that she was supposed to do? She was more than happy to leave the helping to the people who actually wanted to help. Lucky red could devote his spare time to helping Paris, Nightmare wouldn't.

Feeling a little peckish, she snatched a pastry from a nearby street vendor and retired to a nearby rooftop to eat it. Even if she wasn't devoting her time to helping Paris like Lucky Red was, the city was still her territory and playground, she looked over the rooftops with what felt a little like pride as she sat on her high perch and dangled her legs like the child that she was forbidden to be anymore.

She kept sitting there even after she finished eating, it was only when she saw and heard the oh so familiar sights and sounds of chaos that she decided to leave. It could only mean one thing: an akuma was attacking once again and that meant that a certain spotted hero would show his face. That certain spotted hero looked really kind of cute when he was annoyed. The prospect seemed really entertaining about now, so she decided to stop sitting around and start making some mischief.

As she approached the scene, she could hear Lucky Red's pun-filled taunts piercing the occasional break between the sounds of general destruction and paint splatters that filled the area.

"Something bugging you, Artillery?" He jumped out of the way of a ball of paint, barely avoiding being turned bright pink.

The akuma roared in reply. "Stand still you pesky little bug!" He shot another round of paintballs out. Lucky Red easily dodged them all. Marinette almost didn't see the one heading her way until it nearly hit her. She managed to avoid it just in time to avoid getting turned into a truly hideous shade of yellow.

The buildings around the scene nearly glowed in the streetlights from the brightly colored paints that covered them. Marinette settled in to watch the show with a bag of peanuts that she had grabbed from an abandoned park bench nearby. She watched as Lucky red jumped and swung his way around with his yo-yo, not quite dodging Artillery shots all the time. By the time she had finished her peanuts, she could barely tell that his suit had once been red with black spots. Seeing as he still wasn't getting close to finishing the fight, she started throwing the empty shells at him. Most of them missed.

There were a few shells that might've hit, but if they did Lucky Red didn't react. Marinette was starting to get bored. If nothing interesting happened soon, she was going to wander off and find something else to do. Fortunately for the rest of Paris, something else did happen.

"Lucky Charm!"

Marinette perked up her ears. This was always good. She couldn't quite see what the red and black thing was in his hands. She squinted to see if she could get a better look.

To her surprise, Lucky Red started running right towards her.

"I'll return this later, " he said snatching the empty paper container from her hands.

A few seconds later, Lucky Red had completed a maneuver involving a stapler, her empty peanut container, a bed spring he had picked up off the ground, and some of Artillery's own paint, and had somehow ended up with the akuma's brush at the end of it.

“Miraculous ladybug!” He shouted throwing the red and black spotted stapler up in the air.

A swarm of ladybugs swept over Paris, returning Marinette’s trash to her hands. She crumpled it up into a ball and threw it on the ground before standing up and preparing to leave.

“Hey, you can’t do that, it’s littering!” Lucky Red shouted from behind her.

Marinette rolled her eyes. Really? “I don’t see anyone here to stop me,” she said, turning around.

She heard Lucky Red sigh from behind her. “You could really do better than this, you know,” he said.

Marinette looked at him one last time. He had thrown her trash away. “I could,” she shrugged, “I just choose not to.”

And with that, she climbed up the rooftops and ran through the night, away from any heroes who might try to reform her and any villains who might try and get in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not entirely satisfied with this, but I’m out of time so… Yay! Day 5! Take a story inspired by the Life Swap AU by imthepunchlord. And when I say inspired by, I mean it kind of started out the same and then it turned into something else, I kind of want to play around with it some more but… *shrugs*
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll be back on saturday with my final entry! See you then! :)


	3. Still Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the guardian of the miraculous, Ivan watches heroes rise and fall throughout the years.

_ “Once upon a time, long, long, ago, there was a turtle who fell in love with a butterfly.  _

_ “When he was with her, the entire world seemed bright and beautiful, just like she was. He spent all of his time with her and when they were together, he was so happy that every day felt like it would never end. _

_ “But after a couple of weeks the butterfly died, and the turtle had to keep on living without her. Time passed, he found many other people he loved, one or two of them were even butterflies too, but none of them could replace his butterfly, the one he had loved. So the turtle kept trudging through life, seeing  and experiencing much, but always mourning the love he had lost.” _

_ “That’s a sad story, Grandpa.” _

_ “Sometimes life is sad.” _

_ “What if I don’t want to listen to sad stories?” _

_ “If you want to inherit the turtle miraculous one day, you have to understand that you will live life twice over. You will watch everyone you know die. That is the price you must pay.” _

_ “But if I take the miraculous won’t you die?” _

_ “I’m an old man, Petra. I’m ready to see my darling butterfly again.” _

* * *

 

The first pair of heroes Ivan can remember are himself and Mylene. A butterfly and a turtle. An unlikely pair for sure, but one that Paris needed and welcomed in their time of need. When their work was done, Mylene stopped being Swallowtail, but he had never stopped being Bouclier.

The old man had seemed to think that Ivan would be a good guardian and he taught him well. Ivan knows everything there is to know about the miraculous, there are even things that he figured out himself. But taking up the turtle’s burden came with its own costs. His darling Mylene died long ago, as did their children. He has outlived so many generations that he has lost track of descendants that are still alive. All except Petra.

Petra is his grandchild, there are quite a lot of greats before the grandchild in her title, but Ivan is old and has lost track. Her maman doesn’t pay much attention to her, so he’s all but adopted her as his own. Her youth livens up the place. He’s teaching her to be the next guardian. But he’s making sure she understands what she’s getting into. She’ll at least know that much more than he did so long ago.

* * *

_ “What are you doing, Grandpa?” _

_ “I’m choosing a pair of heroes to defend Paris.” _

_ “But they’re always saying that we don’t need heroes to make things right. They’re saying that they can solve any problems themselves.” _

_ “They always say that, but they never mean it.” _

* * *

 

The second pair of heroes are a peacock and a bee. Mylene is still alive and she is the only butterfly in his mind. Ivan can’t bear to see anyone but her wear the broach. So he avoids choosing a wielder for it. Eventually a butterfly will spread its wings again, but for now, it continues to sleep. 

The new heroes do their job well. They are a flashy pair, but one that never the less gets the job done quickly and efficiently. They defend Paris against its petty criminals and little villains, but most importantly they give the city hope during one of its bleakest moments and darkest times.

Eventually, though, they clash and fight, overstaying their welcome. They grow too petty and proud to work together anymore and cause the people of Paris to turn their backs and become resentful and bitter. As they turn on each other, the city they once fought to protect turns on them. 

The first whispers come from student radio stations that broadcast only at night, and poorly written articles and arguments from people who don’t think.  _ “Maybe, we don’t need heroes.” _ The idea gains ground.

Ivan manages to read the currents and pulls back the heroes he created before they can do any more harm. It’s too late to undo the damage already done though. Ivan’s mistake will affect him throughout the decades to come.

* * *

 

_ “Can I help you choose this time? Since It’ll be my job eventually?” _

_ “Of course, Petra. You’re certainly old enough.” _

_ “Okay, I’ll get the chest.” _

_ “Go right ahead.” _

* * *

 

Ivan waits a long time before he risks choosing another pair of heroes. Mylene is the one who encourages him to face his fear of failure. When a new technology leads to abuses and corruption, he chooses a new wielder with her encouragement. This time he chooses one that can act discretely, working with the current instead of openly opposing it when the mood has grown so hostile.

The fox is a natural choice, one that plays tricks with the mind, no one will know about them unless they choose to reveal themselves. Their partner is harder to choose. And in the end, Ivan ends up donning his mask once more and taking the wellbeing of his city into his own hands. The fox is a, well foxy, sort of person, he prefers to wage his battles words rather than with fists or weapons. He has a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. 

Nobody tells stories about Loki or Tortue, nobody even sees them. The ones that do see, don’t remember. They just see the effects of the heroes work and congratulate themselves on a job well done. Ivan sees no reason to make the truth known. 

Ivan stays friends with the fox, even after they set aside their masks. It’s yet another person who he eventually outlives. Ivan didn’t realize how fleeting life could be until his own stretched out longer than most people even dream of living.

* * *

_ “I can see them, Grandpa! They’re really out there and fighting, and being heroes!” _

_ “You did give them the miraculouses.” _

_ “I know, but seeing it makes it feel real.” _

_ “It does, doesn’t it.” _

_ “I hope they succeed.” _

_ “You chose well, I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t.” _

* * *

Ivan feels more confident after choosing Loki, but he’s still cautious and he waits a long time before deciding to choose again. When war strikes and Paris comes under attack, he realizes that he truly has no other choice. This isn’t a job for just any heroes, this calls for a truly extraordinary pair. He chooses the wielders with the utmost care this time, they are a black cat and a ladybug and must fit together perfectly, two halves of a whole.

This time, he doesn’t make a mistake. The two of them are just what Paris needs in the chaos. They defend, protect and heal the people. The hostility toward heroes starts to fade, little by little, remaining no matter what the heroes do. Lucky Bug and Panther don’t seem to mind, they fight on regardless, to busy saving the city and falling in love to care much about what the citizens think. If they do care, they certainly don’t mention it to the friendly old couple living down the street.

Ivan is relieved to see their competence. Mylene is getting old and she’s too stubborn to agree to leave the city for somewhere safer. He knows that this will be the last pair of heroes she sees. She loves watching the heroes at work, remembering her own time as Paris’s hero.

Lucky Bug and Panther go out in the same way they come in, with a bang. Literally. They sacrifice themselves to prevent Paris from being targeted by the lasted superweapon that people with more money than morals have come up with. Ivan pretends to be an old uncle and discretely retrieves the miraculouses off their dead bodies. Their death comes as both a shock and a relief to Paris. Relief that they’ll live another day, shock that the heroes that they had almost grow to love are dead.

It doesn’t surprise Ivan as much as it probably should. They were always a passionate pair. He can imagine how their last conversation must’ve gone:

“They say Paris doesn’t need heroes,” Lucky Bug would say, “Are you up for proving them wrong?”

“You bet! I’ll always be by your side Bug,” Panther would reply.

“It’s a shame we have to end things so soon.” Lucky Bug would say, voice filled with false bravado. 

Panther would just shrug. “Till death do us part.” 

Ivan couldn’t see it ending any other way.

* * *

_ “Why are you giving me this? It’s yours. It’s always been” _

_ “I think you’re ready to inherit it, Petra.” _

_ “But if I take it, you’ll die.” _

_ “Haven’t I already told you, my dear? When you get as old as I am, you don’t fear death anymore. I’m ready to move on.” _

_ “I, I’m still not sure.” _

_ “Take your time, think about it, I’ll wait.” _

* * *

 

After that, the memories of the heroes fade more into a blur. Mylene dies, and he lives on. Eventually, he outlives their children and grandchildren. Time and time again, more frequently than before, he chooses heroes. Times are changing more rapidly than he ever thought possible. A fox, a bee, a peacock, once a black cat and ladybug, take up arms to defend Paris. Even a butterfly spreads its wings.

Miraculouses are lost and found. Mistakes are made fixed. Sometimes wielders fight each other, other times they fight together. The attitude towards them never quite changes though. Some heroes are more welcome than others, but Paris always feels at least a little resentment towards them.

So much time passes, governments rise and fall, political parties say one thing this moment and change their minds completely the next, new technologies are developed and others are rediscovered. Living for nearly two hundred years tires a person out, and Ivan starts to look for a successor.

He finds a potential one in his some-odd great-grandchild, Petra. Her mother was a young, unmarried, student who was relieved to find help in raising her with the friendly old “Uncle Ivan” down the street. She visits and calls occasionally, but having a child was never part of her plan.

* * *

 

_ “I think I’m ready now, Grandpa.” _

_ “You’ll be an excellent guardian, Petra.” _

* * *

_ “Wayzz, Transformez-moi!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back again with my final entry! More turtle!Ivan this time, only angstier. Because apparently, I can’t participate in a fandom week without writing angst or really write much of anything. Writing these has given me an attachment to turtle Ivan that you can’t talk me out of. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my entries!

**Author's Note:**

> Kwami Swap week! Yeah! I’ve only got a few entries planned for this week because my life is currently low key crazy, but one of those days happens to be today, so I hope you enjoy some Ivan/Mylene fluff/drama (idk). I think that they’d make a good superhero pair. Ivan’s hero name, Bouclier, means shield in french (I think, I used an online dictionary) and, though it isn’t mentioned in the story, Mylene's name is Swallowtail. They work together to fight Hornet, an unidentified bee miraculous wielder (seriously, I have no idea who she is). 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading it and I’ll be back on day 5 with some Chat Noir!Marinette and Ladybug!Adrien. Toodles! :)


End file.
